Retractable pen and pencil device



F. C. WALLACE RETRACTABLE PEN AND PENCIL DEVICE April 25, 195o Filed Aug. 14, 1948 FIG. 2.

FIG. 3.

FIG. I. FIG. 6.

INVENTOR FRANK C. WALLACE ATTORNEYS' Patented Apr. 25, 1950 UNITED STAT-Es PATENT FFICEl RETRACTABLE PEN AND PENCIL DEVICE Frank C. Wallace, North Hollywood, Calif.

Application AugustJ 14, 1948, 'Serial No. 44,297

This invention relates to retractable pen and pencil devices and has for an object the provision of a combination pencil and ball point pen device wherein, upon relative rotation of parts of the barrel in one direction, the pen element is projected and the pencil elementA is retracted, and wherein, upon relative rotation of the parts of the barrel in the reversedirection, the pencil element is projected while the pen element is retracted.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this character so arranged and constructed that it is capable of being manufactured with maximum economy and efficiency.

Another object is to provide a device of this character wherein the pen element may be made of maximum length for av given length of barrel and yet enable its outer end to be retracted far enough into the barrel to prevent soiling the clothes of the user when the device is clipped in a pocket.

Another object is t provide a device of this character wherein, when the pen is retracted,

.purpose I shall refer to the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation; Y Fig. 2 is an enlarged medial longitudinal section; v

Fig. 3 is a section taken online 3--3` of Fig. 2; Eig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

y Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 5, with part of the barrel being broken away for illustrative purposes; and

Fig. 6 is an exploded view showing, partly in elevation and partly in section, the separate elements of the device.

It will be understood, of course, that the drawing and the following description are intended as explanatory only since within the broader scope of the invention, various modifications may be made. Y

Referring now to the drawings, I show at 5 a. lower barrel portion, at 6 an upper barrel portion,

yto

6 Claims. (Cl. 1Z0-111.2)

2v at l a retainer for holding and at 8 a cover cap.

The lower bar-rel portion 5 tapers at its bottom end portion to a relatively small bottom end opening I0 to selectively pass the pen and pencil elements to be described.

Within the upper end of the barrel portion 5, I force-fit a. bushing l5 having a peripheral flange I6 overlying the top end of the barrel portion 5, and within this bushing I force-fit the lower end portion of a guide member l l.

The guide member has a pair of diametrically opposed longitudinal outwardly opening grooves or ways 20, 2 I- and an externally threaded upper end portion 22.

Within the lower end portion of the upper barrel portion 6, I frictionally t a sleeve 25 compri-sed of a strip. spirally formed to provide a left-hand thread or way 26; and in the upper end portion of the barrel portion 6, I likewise mount a sleeve 30 comprised of a strip spirally formed to provide a right-hand threadv or way 32. These sleeves are disposed end to end but their contiguous ends are separated by a bushing ring 35.

Axially slidably mounted within groove 2l, I provide a ball point pen unit consisting of a conventional ink containing tube 4| having press tted on its lowerend a cap 42 carrying in its reduced open bottom end a ball 43 serving as the Writing point. Secured to, the upper end of the tube 4|, I provide an S-shaped resilient extension arm 45 having an outwardly bowed portion 45a presenting a lateral projection 46 to engage in the thread 32, and an inwardly bowed upper end portion 45h resillently bearing against the inner or bottom wall of the groove 2l to yieldably hold the projection in the thread. The extreme upper end 45o of the arm is inturned to enable a user to place a nngernail or other object therebeneath to remove the unit.

Slidably mounted within the groove 20, I provide a pencil unit. 50 consisting of a lead carrying tube 50a through whose outer end cap 50h the lead 50c is retractable. Secured to the upper end of the tube 50a there is an S-shaped resilient extension arm having an outwardly bowed the parts in assembly,

Vportion 55e presenting a lateral projection 56 for of the guide member Il, and an eraser element 62 may be carried in the upper end of the retaining member.

A removable cover cap `65 is frictionally tted on the retaining member, and a clip 61 may be secured to the side of the upper barrel portion to enable the device to be clipped into a pocket.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that my device is capable of very economical manufacture. After providing the barrel portions, the upper one of which may be of ordinary tube stock, the bushing l5 is simply force-fitted on the lower end of the guide mem-v ber and frictionally iitted into the upper end of the lower barrel portion.

It is a very simple procedure not only to form the spiral sleeves 25, 3l) but also to fit them, with the spacer ring, in the upper barrel portion. Then the pencil unit 50 is dropped into the groove 20 and the upper barrel portion is fitted over the guide member, after which the pen unit 40 is dropped into groove 2| and pushed inwardly slightly to engage projection 46 in the thread 32. Then the retaining member 'l is threaded onto the upper end of the guide member after which the cap 8 may be applied.

By mounting the spiral sleeves end to end, an unusually long ink tube may be employed for the pen unit and still when that unit is retracted, the ball point end is withdrawn into the barrel a considerable distance (for instance as in Fig, 2) This also facilitates ease of operation since the pen and pencil units do not tend to jam.`

The projections 45, L36 are positively engaged in the spiral threads by the formation and resiliency of the arms, yet the pen and pencil units may be easily removed and replaced by the most unskilled person. In fact there are no parts of my device susceptible of getting out of order.

I claim:

1. A writing implement comprising a barrel composed of a pair of tubes disposed end to end, a guide member secured at its lower end in the upper end of the lower tube and projecting thereabove into the upper tube, the upper tube being rotatable relative to the lower tube and said guide member, a pair of sleeves disposed end to end within and secured to the upper tube around said guide member, one of said sleeves presenting a left-hand spiral thread and the other sleeve presenting a right-hand spiral thread, and a pair of Writing elements axially slidably disposed in the guide member for protraction and retraction through the lower end of the lower tube, one of said elements having a lateral projection engaged in one of said threads and the other element having a lateral projection engaged in the other thread.

2. A writing implement comprising a barrel composed of a pair of tubes disposed' end to end, a guide member secured at its lower end in the upper end of the lower tube and projecting thereabove into the upper tube said guide member having a pair of diametrically opposite outwardly opening longitudinal grooves, the upper tube being rotatable relative to the lower tube and said guide member, a pair of sleeve disposed end to end within and secured to the upper tube around said guide member, one of said sleeves presenting a left-hand spiral thread and the other sleeve presenting a right-hand spiral thread, and a pair of writing elements axially slidably disposed in the respective grooves in the guide member for protraction and retraction through the lower end of the lower tube, one of said elements having a lateral projection engaged in one of said threads 4 and the other element having a lateral projection engaged in the other thread.

3. A writing implement comprising a pair of coaxial tubes disposed end to end for rotation relative to each other, a pair of sleeves disposed end to end within and secured to one of the tubes, said sleeves presenting right and left hand threads respectively, a pair of elongated writing elements axially slidably disposed in the tubes for protraction and retraction through the outer end of the other tube, one of the elements .having a lateral projection engaged in the thread of one of the sleeves and the other element having a lateral projection engaged in the threads of the other sleeve, and means for guiding the protractive and retractive movement of said elements.

4. A writing implement comprising a pair of coaxial tubes disposed end to end for rotation re1- ative to each other, the upper tube having secured therein a pair of sleeves disposed end to end and presenting, respectively, right and left hand spiral threads, a guide member xed at its lower end in the lower tube and extending axially of the upper tube, the upper end of the guide member being threaded, a retaining member threaded on the upper end of the guide member to hold the tubes against axial separation, and a pair of writing elements slidably disposed in the guide member for protraction and retraction through the lower end of the lower tube, said elements having portions engaging the threads of the respective sleeves.

5. A writing implement comprising a pair of coaxial tubes secured together end to end for rotation relative to each other, a spirally threaded member in the upper tube, a writing element mounted for axial movement in the tubes for protraction and retraction through the lower end of the lower tube and means carried by the writing element to engage said thread, said latter means comprising a resilient S-shaped extension arm on the inner end of the writing element and presenting a lateral projection extending into the thread.

6. In a writing implement, a pair of coaxial tubes disposed end to end for relative rotation, a bushing secured in the upper end of the lower tube and having a peripheral ange overlying said end, a pair of coaxial sleeves secured in end to end relation in the upper sleeve and presenting, respectively, right and left hand spiral threads, a ring interposed between contiguous ends of the sleeves and providing an abutment at contiguous ends of the threads, a guide member fixed at its lower end in the bushing and extending axially of said sleeves, retainer means cooperating with the guide member to hold the' tubes against axial separation, and a pair of writing elements axially slidably mounted in the guide member for protraction and retraction through the lower end of the lower tube, said respective writing elements having operative engagement with said respective threads. p

FRANK C. WALLACE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of'record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Furedy et al -Aug 7, 1928 

